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DOUGLAS MURRAY

SNP is sacrificing confused kids on the altar of self-rule

EVERYTHING must be going amazingly well in Nicola Sturgeon’s Scotland.

The SNP has presided over a historic fall in school standards. They have ruled over a collapsing economy. And they are responsible for drug abuse levels that would shame the developing world.

Nicola Sturgeon is trying to disguise SNP nationalism blowing pink, green and purple smoke around themselves
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Nicola Sturgeon is trying to disguise SNP nationalism blowing pink, green and purple smoke around themselvesCredit: PA

But at least under their new proposals a child will be able to pretend to be the opposite sex from the age of 16.

That is what Nicola Sturgeon’s mad government has tried to put into law.

The so-called Gender Recognition Act proposes that a 16-year-old may be too young to buy a pint but they can make life-changing decisions about their sex and be recognised as such by the state.

Of course the whole thing is a bluff. One carried out at the expense of vulnerable young people. But still a bluff. There are two reasons for it.

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The first is that Sturgeon and co are forever looking for “progressive” causes to attach themselves to.

That is because they know that around the world “nationalist” movements are always seen as regressive and even right-wing.

The Scots Nats have found a clever way to counter this. While trying to break up our country and create their own little fiefdom, they constantly blow pink, green and purple smoke around themselves. All in an effort to disguise their real aims.

The party used to put all of its hopes on North Sea oil. But in recent years there hasn’t been a “green” cause they haven’t spouted. Including barmy ones against all fossil fuels.

Ditto with everything to do with gay people.

The SNP goes particularly big on “pride” events. And now they have gone the way of trans lunacy, accepting the most extreme trans claims and trying to embed them into law.

Their latest plot is meant to cover them in trans glory. Instead of approaching this with extreme care — as should be the way — they decided to jump all in on the issue. So as not to look like the petty and nasty little nationalists they are.

But they had a second reason to try to push this bill through as well. Which was that the SNP knew the Government in Westminster would challenge it.

On Monday the UK Government did indeed announce that it would block the Scottish bill.

After all, we are one country still, whatever Nicola Sturgeon might dream about.

And just as it is not actually possible to change your chromosomes, so it is in no way possible that a country can allow a law which would make someone a woman in Scotland and a man in England. Or vice versa.

Of course, Sturgeon and her crew were banking on this response.

We can now expect them to do the usual thing. Drum roll . . . Sturgeon and company will say the wicked bigots in Westminster are trying to thwart the will of the Scottish people.

They will say that by not allowing people to invent their sex from 16 years onwards Westminster is being transphobic, anti-gay and most likely killing people.

They will cry about how “backwards” Westminster is. But they will also use it for the only thing the Nats really care about.

Which is stoking the fuel of Scottish grievances in order to try to win independence for Scotland.

There are already those who say the government in Westminster should not have fallen into this SNP trap.

But I can’t see how they could avoid it. And it is high time they stood up to her.

Nicola Sturgeon already talks and acts as though she is the leader of an independent nation.

In recent years, whenever a Prime Minister comes to Edinburgh, Sturgeon greets them at her official residence or office as though she is greeting a foreign dignitary.

Of course she is not. But her pretence ends up having an effect.

Increasingly, Scotland looks like it is a separate entity from the rest of the United Kingdom.

And so the fringe demands of the SNP become mainstream, tolerable and risk eventually being accepted.

The Gender Recognition Act is just a cynical piece of politics from the SNP.

They pretend they care about confused 16-year-olds who think they live in the wrong body.

In fact they are just using this tiny number of people to do the one thing they really want.

Which is to pretend that Scotland is in the wrong union and needs to be a law unto itself.

If they ever were it would be a disaster. For the people of Scotland most of all.

But the Nats will weaponise everything and anything to get their way. Confused 16-year-olds are just one more sacrifice on their road to tartan nirvana.

IRAN IS BAD AS RUSSIA

LAST week the Iranian regime executed a British citizen.

In recent months they have been disappearing, torturing and killing many of their own citizens as anti-regime protests have continued.

Iran is selling weapons to Russia so Putin can kill more Ukrainians
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Iran is selling weapons to Russia so Putin can kill more UkrainiansCredit: EPA

The protests are historic – bigger than anything since the Mullahs took over the country in 1979.

But the EU and others are still dealing with the regime in order to come to a new arrangement on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The deal has been on life-support for years, since America first withdrew from it in 2018.

As arranged, the deal only delayed Iran’s enrichment programme and put the rest of the world at their mercy.
But the EU, in particular, is still mad about making a deal.

Now the Mullahs are busy once again killing their own people.

They are also selling drones and other weapons to the Russians so that Vladimir Putin can kill more Ukrainians.

It is impossible to see why any country would still do business with Iran under the Mullahs or believe a word they say.

So why is the world still negotiating with them?

We should isolate them, support the opposition and hope that the nightmare that country has gone through for 43 years soon comes to an end.

TRANS OP PAIN

JUST one reason why people should avoid rushing to try to sexually “transition” kids can be seen in new figures out this week.

Trans lobbyists talk about surgery as though human beings are made from Lego and you can just take bits off and put other bits on.

Well, new research shows that 53 per cent of men who have “transitioned” into being women are in such pain they need medical care.

Around a third struggle to have sex and a fifth have problems with going to the toilet.

We should have compassion for people. But that includes telling people the real facts. Not brushing them away with claims of “transphobia” and other ways to shut down debate.

Gina knew how to have a Lol

ITALIAN movie star and sex symbol Gina Lollobrigida has died at the age of 95.

She had fans around the world. But I could never think of her without thinking of one interview.

Rest in peace to the great Italian film star Gina Lollobrigida
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Rest in peace to the great Italian film star Gina LollobrigidaCredit: Getty

The Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci was famous for her bruising interviews with world leaders and celebrities.

When she interviewed Lollobrigida in the 1960s, Fallaci’s opening question began: “I don’t think you’re as stupid as people say.”

She was right. But brava to Lollobrigida for taking that in her stride.

BIDEN’S DONE A TRUMP

US President Joe Biden is in hot water over top-secret documents he turns out to have stored in various of his houses and offices.

Last year Biden and his party went into meltdowns of rage when it turned out that former President Donald Trump had some top-secret documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Biden's in hot water after getting caught doing the same thing he slammed Trump for
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Biden's in hot water after getting caught doing the same thing he slammed Trump forCredit: Getty

Trump insisted he had done nothing wrong. His Democrat opponents said otherwise. But now Joe is in difficulty.

If it is so easy to not take top-secret documents when leaving office why did he do it when leaving office as Vice-President six years ago? Multiple times.

And why did he have these documents in very unsecured locations – such as his car garage?

Biden is trying to pretend it is completely different in his case.

The only difference I can see is that Trump kept his top-secret documents in his wife’s closet and Biden kept them in his garage.

I’m not sure what’s better or worse.

What I do know is that Biden just lost the high ground on this one.

EM, SUM MISTAKE

LABOUR’S Emily Thornberry just announced a plan to “double” the size of the NHS workforce.

How would she pay for this? She says Labour would close a loophole that allows “non-doms” (people from abroad who live in the UK while paying a set rate of tax).

Emily Thornberry's sums seem to be way off if she thinks she can 'double' the size of the NHS workforce
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Emily Thornberry's sums seem to be way off if she thinks she can 'double' the size of the NHS workforceCredit: Alamy

The number of non-doms has already gone down since the last rules change.

The idea that all these people would remain after another rule change is a leap of faith.

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But even if every current non-dom did stay and paid their taxes solely in the UK, how on earth does that allow a doubling of the NHS workforce?

Not for the first time Labour’s sums are way off.

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